10 April 2009

One Man

One of my students invited me to photograph her final project for her Communications class. She and several other students traveled to Center City Philadelphia (an area with which I am only moderately familiar, mostly as home to the Reading Terminal Market and packet pick-up for the Philadelphia Marathon) for an experimental project in nonverbal communication: free hugs. Technically speaking, there was both verbal and nonverbal communication here, as they were both speaking and holding up signs with words written on them, but that wasn't the subject of their experiment. What they were interested in was how ordinary people would react to being offered a hug by a total stranger. Coincidentally, they chose to carry out this experiment on Good Friday.

The title of this post is a homonym for the man who began this campaign in Sydney, Australia--Juan Mann. That is not, to the best of my knowledge, a pseudonym. That is his actual name.

What a Fire Cat Is

What I Need to Remember

Never ask "What next, Lord?" The last time I said that, I got called for jury duty and the elastic on my underpants quit.

Who Owns the Content

All text, unless otherwise specified, is mine.

Some photos are copyright Romano Film & Photography. I have permission. I also happen to have copies of the legal agreements and permissions of all RF&P images so I know whether or not you have permission. Rest assured the estate will kick your ass if you use them without permission, and I will happily lead the charge. In short, don't fuck with a dead guy's best friend. Okay? Cool.